Actor Taye Diggs (left) works with director Jesse Bochco on the set...

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Actor Taye Diggs (l to r) works with diretor Jesse Bochco on the set of TNT's "Murder in the First" while shooting a scene in San Francisco's Chinatown district on Monday, March 24, 2014, in San Francisco, Calif.

The morning fog had lifted over San Francisco's Chinatown, and actors Taye Diggs and Kathleen Robertson were busy chasing down a lead in a Silicon Valley murder case.

"I didn't do nothing!" yelled a male witness, as Diggs - playing SFPD homicide Inspector Terry English - collared him on the Grant Avenue sidewalk. The witness tried to break free and yelled, "Police brutality!"

The scene was shot over and over again from multiple camera angles on a recent Monday morning in San Francisco for a new drama series called "Murder in the First," to debut in early June on TNT. As cameramen, assistants, stunt doubles, consulting technicians, set extras and stylists worked, shoppers and tourists gawked and Chinatown merchants looked on with wary curiosity.

The fictional crime drama, co-created by Emmy-winner Steven Bochco and Eric Lodal, is set in San Francisco and follows a single case across the 10-episode first season. It involves a rich and petulant young techie named Erich Blunt played by Tom Felton (best known for his role of Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter film series); inspectors Terry English and Hildy Mulligan (Robertson); and a handful of colorful detectives and high-flying attorneys and prosecutors.

As the inspectors try to solve the maze-like case of two seemingly unrelated murders, family dramas play out between English and his wife and Mulligan and her daughter.

Diggs, who made his feature film debut in "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" and has had roles in a wide range of shows and Broadway productions, from "Private Practice" to "Rent," said the scripted crime drama marks a departure for him.

"My character is a normal, everyday cop, and he has his struggles," said Diggs, taking a break from filming. "His wife is dying of cancer. He's not a super cop. He's a real, authentic guy. I've really had to concentrate on the lows, and the hardship."

The new series is a "thriller and a wonderful page turner," said the show's producer, Caroline James. "It's been a lot of fun to make San Francisco a character. It's really a valentine to the city." Filming will last for two to three weeks in San Francisco, with the rest of the work done on set in Los Angeles.

Preparing for the police roles involved spending time with homicide detectives and inspectors in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and talking with police brass, including SFPD Chief Greg Suhr. Longtime SFPD homicide Inspector Joe Toomey is serving as a technical adviser on the series.

Robertson, who recently appeared in the political drama "Boss" with Kelsey Grammer, prepared for the role by talking with Suhr and doing ride-alongs with detectives in Los Angeles. She went into crack houses, watching as criminals were apprehended and arrests were made.

"I asked questions about how they do things, what they love about these shows and what these shows always get wrong," Robertson said, sitting in the Four Seas restaurant in Chinatown, which served as a location for shooting. "The biggest thing I got from my research that isn't in television shows or movies is the true dynamic between the cops and the 'bad guys.' They know each other. The cops know the offenders, and it's actually much more casual because they know each other."

Robertson said she was taken with the script because of the complexity of Mulligan's character. "You can play the single mom, so you get that aspect, and you get the woman doing a job that is tough and dark and dangerous," Robertson said. "I found it fascinating to have this person who is a mom, and yet goes out and sees the worst of the worst."

Back outside the restaurant, the film crew had moved one street up, to Waverly Place.

Diggs was now rehearsing a scene where he sprints down Waverly in pursuit of the witness. Out of breath and flashing a grin, Diggs said of his job: "I get to chase and tackle people and shoot guns. It's playing cops and robbers."